The rise comes as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is poised to become the second exchange to offer Bitcoin futures. These will allow new institutional investors to speculate on the value of digital currency.
At the same time, the network seems to be a victim of its success. After having passed the 120,000 mark, the number of transactions waiting to be confirmed by minors was still very high, as were the costs associated with them. Figures that make it difficult to use Bitcoin for daily transactions, and that slow down its democratization.
But an answer to these problems could be made next year, with the arrival of the Lightning Network. This will be able to move transactions "outside the chain", to unclog the Bitcoin network.